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How to study economic rationality in the 21st century?
https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2025-12-32-55
Abstract
The study of rationality in economics is developing in two directions. On the one hand, under the influence of long-standing criticism, institutional and behavioral factors have been actively integrated into formal models of rational choice, thereby strengthening the mainstream. On the other hand, mainstream rational choice theory is being criticized by alternative theories exploring ecological, inclusive, and enactive rationality. These approaches shift attention from the structure of preferences and the cognitive limitations of individuals to their adaptation to the environment through the use of heuristics, social interactions, and institutions. The current consensus on rationality will change under the influence of developments in cognitive science and the associated research program of extended cognition (4E-cognition). 4E-approaches emphasize the active agency of individuals, the immersion of thinking in the external environment and the dynamism of interactions with it, the critical role of social cognitive systems and cognitive institutions in rational choice.
Keywords
rational choice theory,
bounded rationality,
heuristics,
ecological rationality,
inclusive rationality,
enactive rationality,
cognitive institutions
JEL: A12, B41, B52
About the Author
D. P. Frolov
Volgograd State Technical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Daniil P. Frolov
Volgograd
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Frolov D.P. How to study economic rationality in the 21st century? Voprosy Ekonomiki. 2025;(12):32-55. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2025-12-32-55
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